


the most important

by missjmelville



Series: no longer alone [2]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Dad Evan "Buck" Buckley, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepy Cuddles, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25548289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missjmelville/pseuds/missjmelville
Summary: “What are you all doing here?” He mumbles, ignoring Hen’s question and absently rocking the bundle in his arms.“You mean at work?” Chim asks, a giddy smile taking over his face as he slowly brings up his phone to take a picture of Buck, no doubt to send to Maddie.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: no longer alone [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1851313
Comments: 15
Kudos: 242





	the most important

**Author's Note:**

> Just some more unashamed fluff of sleep deprived Buck and Eddie with their baby girl. Dedicated to [Miker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miker/pseuds/Miker) and my darling [matan4il](https://archiveofourown.org/users/matan4il/pseuds/matan4il).

“What’cha doing there, Buckaroo?” Hen predictably is the first to notice Buck as he shuffles sleepily up the stairs and towards the kitchen, making a beeline for the fridge. Buck has the fridge open and is peering inside it confusedly. His hair is sticking up in little curls here and there where it’s escape the hold of his gel and his clothes are rumpled.

Buck blinks and looks up, taking in for the first time the entire team, minus Eddie, watching him from the couches by the TV. He has something bundled in his arms and an adorable confused frown tugging at his brows.

“What are you all doing here?” He mumbles, ignoring Hen’s question and absently rocking the bundle in his arms.

“You mean at work?” Chim asks, a giddy smile taking over his face as he slowly brings up his phone to take a picture of Buck, no doubt to send to Maddie.

“At work?” Buck blinks again and then looks down at his arms where he is holding his uniform shirt in a tight bundle. Pink rises to Buck’s cheeks in a flush as he realises he’s not holding a baby and he is definitely not at home. Bobby is giving Buck a fond smile as he takes in Buck’s predicament. Hen and Chim break down in a fit of giggles as Buck shakes out the shirt and fiddles with it as he tries to stave off the blush on his cheeks, avoiding looking anyone in the eyes.

“Shift’s almost finished anyway Buck, why don’t you head home early, you clearly need the sleep,” Bobby says, taking pity on Buck and offering him an out.

“Thanks Cap,” Buck replies, blinking dazedly as if he’s still half asleep.

“You alright to drive?” Bobby’s smile has morphed into a small frown as he takes in how out of it Buck is right now.

“Yeah, I’ll just grab a coffee and be right as rain,” he replies and immediately after is assaulted by a jaw-cracking yawn. Hen and Chimney have settled down and stopped giggling together and they both watch Buck carefully as he turns back around to make himself a coffee before he leaves.

“He gonna be okay?” Chim asks in a rare bout of seriousness, eyes not straying from Buck as he tilts his head towards Bobby.

“He’ll be fine,” Bobby’s smile returns, soft and fond, “It’s part and parcel of having a newborn in the house,” he raises an eyebrow at Chim, “You and Maddie will find out one day soon I’m sure.” Chim sputters and falls back on the couch, cheeks turning red, Hen laughs loudly as she pokes Chimney in the side as if to say _see_.

Buck wanders back over, steaming mug of coffee clutched in his hands and his uniform shirt slung over his shoulder now that he’s no longer holding it like his baby, he smiles down at Chim and bumps his shoulder with Hen’s, just enjoying their company.

They settle into companionable silence as Hen and Chim turn back to the TV, watching some mindless reality show and Bobby watches Buck carefully as he drinks his coffee.

Buck finishes his coffee and turns around to return it to the kitchen but is stopped by Bobby’s hand on his arm.

“I’ll take it, go on, get home and get some sleep,” he squeezes Buck’s arm comfortingly and takes the mug from his hands. Then in a swift movement he turns Buck towards the stairs and gives him a gentle push to get him going. Smiling when Buck takes a step and stops, hands still grasping for his mug no longer there.

Buck shakes his head and then turns back to watch his team as he waves and throws out a quick goodbye before he makes his way down the stairs.

He doesn’t bother changing in the locker room, just grabs his bag and heads out to his Jeep, eager to get home before the caffeine wears off and he falls asleep at the wheel. He starts the car and drives home on autopilot, music up loud and windows down so that the chill night air will keep him awake. It’s mostly successful in that he arrives home in one piece but if anyone asked him later, he would not be able to remember a single second of the drive home.

He’s home about the time his shift would have ended, and the thought of having to spend another half hour at work and then in traffic makes him dizzy, he’s so glad Bobby took pity on him, he’s not sure he would’ve made it home otherwise.

With stealth borne of fear of waking up a sleeping baby, he unlocks the front door and drops his bag just inside, toeing his boots off quickly and stripping his clothes off unceremoniously and dumping them on top of his bag until he is left standing there in the entryway in only his underwear. God he needs a shower.

Buck is about to head straight into the bathroom when a soft sound from the living room catches his attention, diverting from his path down the hallway he turns into the living room and stops in the doorway. If it were possible to love Eddie Diaz and their little family any more in this moment, his heart would explode.

He pads softly across the room until he is standing at one end of the couch, a soft smile stretching out across his face as he takes in his family, the loves of his life, sleeping peacefully on the couch.

Eddie is stretched out across the couch, sock-clad feet resting on one arm, his head on the other. Curled up in the crook of his arm between Eddie and the back of the couch is their baby girl, fast asleep and tucked against Eddie’s other side, half on top of his dad is Chris, drooling on Eddie’s chest. Chris looks dangerously like he is about to slip off the couch and he has one hand clenched tightly into Eddie’s shirt, but he is held in place by Eddie’s arm wrapped around his waist.

It looks extremely uncomfortable but also very cosy and Buck knows that Eddie will complain about having a sore back and neck the next day but he loathes waking up his family when they’re so content and quiet.

But he’s sure Eddie didn’t mean for them to sleep here for long and they all really need to sleep in their own beds. Buck is exhausted but he manages to muster enough energy to first extract Chris and tuck him into bed without the boy waking up, and then set their baby girl to sleep in her crib without so much as a mumble of disagreement.

When he walks back into the living room, Eddie is sitting up, eyes wild and hair mussed as he looks around, frantic, clearly wondering where his kids went.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Buck almost trips in his haste to get to Eddie, hands wrapping around Eddie’s shoulders, “I put them to bed, come on, your turn,” he kisses Eddie’s forehead softly, absently, reassuring him with touch and affection. Eddie blinks up at him, eyes still clouded with sleep but clearing and Buck can see the panic subside as Buck’s words sink in.

Instead of getting up, Eddie plants his face into Buck’s chest, letting out a grumble that might be Buck’s name but also could just be the groan of a sleep deprived parent. Buck tries not to laugh as he cards a hand through Eddie’s hair.

“Come on baby, bedtime,” he’s gentle as he tugs Eddie up off the couch and they stumble uncoordinated to their bedroom together.

Eddie flops down onto the bed as soon as they are near enough and he is out of Buck’s grasp, he shuffles around a bit until he is comfortably settled beneath the blankets. Buck is tempted to just crawl straight into bed but he really smells and he knows he’ll feel better sleeping clean and waking up late in the morning without having to worry about showering then.

He’s pretty sure Eddie is already asleep so he hurries to the bathroom to have a quick hot shower and wash away the grime from his shift and when he’s done and crawling into bed beside Eddie, his skin and hair are still slightly damp. His curls will be all over the place in the morning but it was hard enough staying awake long enough to shower, never mind staying awake long enough to dry off properly.

“Missed you,” Eddie mumbles into Buck’s ear, the moment he has curled himself around Buck like an octopus, as he does every night they manage to get a chance to sleep together. With rotating shifts so one of them is always home with the baby, sometimes they go a night or two without being able to sleep together.

“Mmm missed you too,” Buck murmurs as he turns his head to drag his lips across Eddie’s cheek in some semblance of a kiss, already falling asleep.

“Love you,” Eddie whispers into the darkness, into the small spaces between them, into the soft warmth of Buck’s skin, it follows him into sleep and pulls him down, down.

“Love you too Eds,” and then slumber is all he knows for the next eight hours.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Come yell at me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/missjmelville)


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